S. Korea to review security cooperation if Japan removes it from list of trusted trade partners

South Korea warned Japan on Thursday that it would review security cooperation if Tokyo pushes ahead with plans to remove Seoul from its “white list” of trusted trade partners.

Seoul’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono on Thursday, on the sidelines of a regional foreign ministers’ meeting in Bangkok, and urged Tokyo to walk back the proposed relegation.

Kang warned Kono that the renewal of a military intelligence-sharing agreement between the countries could be jeopardized by any such “white list” removal, AFP said.

The row between the two key US allies follows a decades-long quarrel over Japan's forced labor practices during World War II. Japan last month unveiled tough restrictions on exports of chemicals vital to Seoul’s world-leading chip and smartphone industry.